My Big Idea

GRATITUDE IS A BUSINESS STRATEGY We may live in a world dominated by technological innovations capable of offering us "personalized" contact with our clients and customers, but in The Currency of Gratitude, Michele Bailey argues that heartfelt, specific, and direct communication steeped in gratitude can grow and sustain a business far better than any targeted technology. Bailey begins from the premise that our professional and personal lives are not as separable as we've allowed them to seem. Given that inseparability, the central tenet of all good business comes down to the cultivation of genuine and long-lasting connections and relationships that acknowledge and develop the whole person. Through engaging stories and real-life business examples, Bailey shows how making gratitude a priority in one's professional life enables businesses to attract and retain top talent and clients and raises employee engagement and productivity. By cultivating brand ambassadors, sustaining a culture of gratitude within one's business can have cascading outward effects--from increased brand awareness to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty. The Currency of Gratitude>/i> proves that small gestures can have big results and invites you to consider immediate and practical ways for promoting gratitude within your own business culture.

A portion of the proceeds from this book have been donated to SupportingOurServicemen.com. Your journal is your sacred place. Here you can capture and foster your most creative thoughts and inspired ideas. 188 of the finest minds and biggest hearts in the world of empowerment come together in this book to encourage you daily to realize your greatest vision. My Big Idea Book - the most recent in the series of #1 International Best-Selling books from Expert Insights Publishing - is an incredible wellspring for readers looking for daily support and encouragement to achieve business and personal success in today's unpredictable world. There is so much power in the written word. Capture yours here for your personal enrichment, and share this journal with others to encourage their greatness.

Self-employment

Ideas are like buses, you wait forever and then 500 come along atonce. The Big Idea Book is 500 novel, ingenious anddownright crazy ideas designed to inspire, amuse and divert.Developed by the team behind the innovative website, Idea-a-Day atwww.idea-a-day.com, itcovers everything from business to travel, politics to money andeverything in between. Idea-a-Day has a vast network of followers and contributors -some famous, some infamous, some revered, some reviled – whopost ideas to be read, enjoyed, used or abused. Seth Godin, MalcolmMaclaren and Wayne Hemmingway are just a few of its fans. In TheBig Idea Book all this creative energy is mixed together withunpublished ideas, quotes, cartoons, illustrations andthought-pieces to give creatives and cool office types a visual andintellectual treat guaranteed to kickstart the imagination andcreative flair!

Today's marketplace is a war of ideas. Unless you stand for something you won't stand out. Nowadays anyone can copy your product, or even your business model. What they can't copy is your worldview, your attitude, your special way of doing things. So the war in the marketplace will be a war of ideas. The Big Idea maps this new territory and shows how big ideas make great companies. Unlike business models or the catchphrases of management gurus, a big idea is emotional. And unlike corporate ideologies, vision or brand, it is shared between customers and employees alike. Companies who have distinguished themselves with a big idea include: Virgin (not British Airways) John Lewis (not Debenhams) Apple (not IBM) Ikea (not MFI) Orange (not Cellnet) Customers don't just buy from these companies, they buy into them - they choose them not through economic logic, but emotional logic. As products and services become more and more similar, emotional logic will become the single most important business driver. The benefits of appealing to it can already be seen: Orange has a much lower turnover of customers than Cellnet and Ikea operates in over 23 countries while MFI only does business in Britain. A big idea isn't just a cute thing to have: it's the spark that makes places thrive while others just exist.

It's the moment when you say, "There's gotta be a better way." It's the moment when you ask, "How can I solve this problem?" Donny Deutsch's hit CNBC show The Big Idea has put the spotlight on that ordinary moment and the people who have the courage and stamina to make their dreams come true. Some people think a big idea is like a lightning bolt striking out of the blue that slams you in the head. But it's hardly ever like that. The big idea isn't an act of God. It's an act of daily life. Simply put, the idea that will make millions starts with an observation. A carpenter gets tired of almost losing a finger every time he slices a bagel. Bam! The Bagel Guillotine. A mother is frustrated that her pantry is full of stale food because the packages don't close. Bam! Quick Seals. Howard Schultz notices on a trip to Italy that there are coffee bars on almost every corner. Bam! Starbucks. None of them had a barrel of cash. None of them had a ton of experience. They had a big idea and the will to follow through. In The Big Idea, Deutsch draws not only on his own tremendous focus and expertise, but on that of dozens of the successful entrepreneurs whom he has interviewed, to help you create your own enterprise. From the "Gut Check Moment" to "Mom Power," The Big Idea takes aspiring entrepreneurs along every step of the way. The Big Idea is your road map to the American dream.

The Big Idea Journal is a workbook designed specifically for people with a vision that they would like to execute but could use guidance on how to make their vision a reality. This workbook provides structure and opportunities for reflection and is rooted in the comprehensive factors that contribute to achieving success. This resource guides you through the process of getting clear on your purpose, getting organized and focused, recognizing and overcoming barriers, reflecting on successes as well as challenges, and following through with your goals. Using this workbook as your guide, you may be surprised to see where your Big Idea may take you!

In this increasingly visual age, images speak louder than words. Studies show that images also help people think. Visual note-taking such as doodling increases memory retention rates by nearly 30 percent, and opens creative pathways, strengthens focus, and inspires self-expression. Driven by these groundbreaking findings, entrepreneurs Nora Herting and Heather Willems founded ImageThink, a graphic facilitation firm that has helped an elite roster of clients—from Google to Pepsi to NASA—visualize their ideas and transform their creative processes using simple drawing techniques that anyone can master. Draw Your Big Idea presents their sought-after guidance and more than 150 drawing exercises tailored to brainstorming, refining, and executing ideas in the home, design studio, and office. With this workbook, readers will learn to beat creative block—for good!